Strap adjustment device

ABSTRACT

A strap adjustment device may be slid onto a cord or strap to adjust its useful length and the tension provided by the cord or strap. The strap adjustment device may include a housing, a first opening on a first end the housing for accepting a length of material through the housing, the first opening having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having an arc shape, the second portion having a rectangular shape, and the first portion contiguously adjoining the second portion to form the first opening, and a locking mechanism for securing a portion of the length of material within the housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisionalpatent application No. 61/300,105 filed Feb. 1, 2010, and incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a strap adjustment device,and more particularly relates to a device that may be used inconjunction with a variety of differently shaped and sized straps toadjust the useful length of a strap as well as the tension provided bythe strap.

Currently, bungee straps are often used, for example, to secure itemssuch as pieces of luggage to luggage racks on vehicles. However, bungeestraps of different lengths are often needed to secure pieces of luggageof different sizes and shapes, thus forcing a user to purchase manydifferent bungee straps of different lengths.

As can be seen, there is a need for a strap adjustment device which canbe used with a variety of differently shaped and sized straps, ropes,cords, belts, and/or other lengths of material, such as rubber ropes andrubber cords, for adjusting the useful length and tension of a strapused in conjunction with the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a device comprises a housing; afirst opening on a first end the housing for accepting a length ofmaterial through the housing, the first opening having a first portionand a second portion, the first portion having an arc shape, the secondportion having a rectangular shape, and the first portion contiguouslyadjoining the second portion to form the first opening; and a lockingmechanism for securing a portion of the length of material within thehousing.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a strap adjustment device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention illustrating alocked position;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the strap adjustment device of FIG. 1illustrating an unlocked position;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the strap adjustment deviceof FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a section view of the strap adjustment device of FIG. 1taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 shows a detail section view of the strap adjustment device ofFIG. 1 illustrating the locked position; and

FIG. 6 shows a top view of the strap adjustment device of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention,since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Various inventive features are described below that can each be usedindependently of one another or in combination with other features.

Broadly, embodiments of the present invention generally provide a devicethat may be used in conjunction with a variety of differently shaped andsized straps to adjust the useful length of a strap as well as thetension provided by the strap.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a strap adjustment device 10 mayinclude a housing 13 which may be slid onto a length of material such asa bungee strap 24 in order to adjust the useful length and the tensionprovided by the strap 24. The housing 13 may be hollow andtubular-shaped and may have a first opening 20A at a first housing end13A, a second opening 20B at a second housing end 13B having the sameshape as the first opening 20A, and a hollow tunnel running from thefirst opening 20A to the second opening 20B.

The housing 13 may receive the strap 24 through the first opening 20A,and the strap 24 may leave the housing 13 through the second opening20B. The housing 13 may be slid up and down the strap 24 and the housing13 may be secured to the strap 24 via a locking mechanism, such as a camlever 16, when it is at a desired location on the strap 24.

The housing 13 may be constructed from a left housing 12 and a righthousing 14, which may be connected via fasteners 22, such as screws, tocomplete the housing 13.

With reference to FIG. 6, the first opening 20A and second opening 20Bon the housing 13 may be shaped so that the housing 13 may be slid ontostraps 24 having a variety of sizes and shapes. To that end, the firstopening 20A may be made up of a first portion 20C having an arc shape,such as a semi-circular shape, and a second portion 20D having arectangular shape that contiguously adjoins the first portion 20C tomake up a single first opening 20A.

The first portion 20C and the second portion 20D of the first opening20A may be disposed so that the second portion 20D of the opening may besituated to abut the length of the diameter side of the semi-circularshaped first portion 20C. Further, the width of the rectangular shapedsecond portion 20D may be wider than the diameter of the semi-circularshaped first portion 20C (and thus may extend past the edges of thesemi-circular shaped first portion 20C on both sides).

In addition, the first portion 20C and the second portion 20D of thefirst opening 20A may be of sufficient size to receive the strap 24having a circular cross-section with a diameter equal to the diameter ofthe semi-circular shape of the first portion 20C of the first opening20A, so that the first portion 20C is able to receive a firstsemi-circular portion of the circular cross-section of the strap 24, andthe second portion 20D is able to receive a second semi-circular portionof the circular cross-section of the strap 24.

The rectangular shaped second portion 20D of the first opening 20A mayalso be able to receive the strap 24 having a rectangular cross-sectionwith the same dimensions as the rectangular shaped second portion 20D.Thus, the strap adjustment device 10 may be versatile in that it may beable to receive and secure many different straps 24 having differentshapes, such as straps 24 having a circular or rectangularcross-section.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the cam lever 16, may be used to lockand secure the strap 24 to the housing 13. The cam lever 16 may bepivoted at a pivot pin 18 so that the cam lever 16 may be moved to alocked position and an unlocked position.

When the cam lever 16 is moved to the locked position, a leg 16A of thecam lever 16 may be positioned so that it may push a portion of thestrap 24 within the housing 13 against an interior wall of the housing13, thereby securing the strap 24 with the housing.

Alternatively, when the cam lever 16 is moved to the unlocked position,the cam lever 16 may be positioned so that the leg 16A no longer pushesthe portion of the strap 24 within the housing against the interior wallof the housing 13. The cam lever 16 may also be connected to a hook 26which may apply additional tension to the cam lever 16 when the camlever is in the locked position.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

1. A device comprising: a housing; a first opening on a first end thehousing for accepting a length of material through the housing, thefirst opening having a first portion and a second portion, the firstportion having an arc shape, the second portion having a rectangularshape, and the first portion contiguously adjoining the second portionto form the first opening; and a locking mechanism for securing aportion of the length of material within the housing.
 2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the first portion of the first opening on the housinghas a semi-circular shape.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein therectangular shape of the second portion is wider than a diameter of thesemi-circular shape of the first portion.
 4. The device of claim 3,wherein: the first portion of the first opening and the second portionof the first opening are able to receive the length of material having acircular cross-section and a diameter equal to the diameter of thesemi-circular shape of the first portion; the first portion of the firstopening is able to receive a first semi-circular portion of the circularcross-section of the length of material; and the second portion of thefirst opening is able to receive a second semi-circular portion of thecircular cross-section of the length of material.
 5. The device of claim1, wherein the locking mechanism is movable to a locked position and anunlocked position.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the lockingmechanism comprises a cam lever.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein thecam lever includes a leg for pushing a portion of the length of materialwithin the housing against an interior wall of the housing when thelocking mechanism is in the locked position.
 8. The device of claim 4,further comprising a second opening on a second end of the housingopposite the first end of the housing.
 9. The device of claim 8, whereinthe second opening has a same shape as the first opening.
 10. The deviceof claim 9, further comprising a tunnel having a same shape as the firstopening and that runs from the first opening to the second opening.